Linkhill Pty Ltd v Director of Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate

Linkhill Pty Ltd brought a case against the Director of Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate over the Director's refusal to grant leave to appeal from a decision made during a trial. The dispute centred on Linkhill's application to withdraw important admissions it had made in its defence three days into the trial. The court had to decide whether the Director's refusal to grant leave to appeal was a proper exercise of discretion and whether the Director had acted with probity and fairness. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issue was whether Linkhill had met the burden of demonstrating that the Director's refusal to grant leave to appeal was unjust or otherwise an improper exercise of discretion. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the Director had breached any duty of probity and fairness by not making the same concessions in the trial as it had done before the court. Linkhill argued that the Director should have allowed it to withdraw the admissions, which it claimed were necessary for the court to consider the real issues between the parties.

The court found that Linkhill had not met the heavy burden of demonstrating that the Director's refusal to grant leave to appeal was unjust. It observed that the decision under review was made in the course of a trial, and the court is generally reluctant to grant leave to appeal from decisions relating to issues of practice or procedure made during a trial. The court also rejected Linkhill's argument that the Director had failed to act with probity and fairness. The court held that the Director's stance in the trial was understandable, given the late timing of the application and the significant progress made in the trial.

The application for leave to appeal was refused, and Linkhill was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the application.